In Texas, a U.S. government has ruled that a private Medicare plan must and will cover a client's sexual reassignment surgery. This decision is the first of it's kind and could have big impacts on healthcare regulations moving forward. Charlene Lauderdale is a U.S. Air Force veteran, and she can now get the treatment she needs. Lauderdale said, ""I am so relieved that I can now get the medical care that I have needed for so long." Her reassignment surgery is no longer considered cosmetic but medically necessary.